By David Maillie

If you've been paying attention lately you would have noticed that the price of gas once again seems to be climbing higher and higher with no real let up in sight. The national average is $3.10 right now and in some states gas prices are as high as $3.50. And experts are saying it will only get higher. Once again consumers are starting to flock to car dealerships in search of some relief by buying a smaller vehicle and one with better gas mileage – especially hybrids.

The real question here is would this, especially in the purchase of hybrid cars, be beneficial to the customer and also to the environment as the manufacturers state in their TV ads? Do hybrids really save you money in the long run and are they the green vehicles auto manufacturers tout them to be? And what really is the best way to save on gas and get the best fuel economy?

First of all, lets look at the purchase of a hybrid. They are still in limited supply so that means you will probably pay several thousand dollars more than for the comparable regular gas model. In some cases like the Toyota Prius you can easily pay $8-$10,000 more than for a comparable Toyota camry or Honda Accord. Now equip that with the fact that if you were to fill up your tank once or twice a week and the hybrid were to add 5 to even 10 miles per gallon (the mileage touted by the auto manufacturers has actually been found to be wrong and only to occur in perfect conditions that almost never occur for most drivers – this is why the EPA, DOT and other government organizations are having the mileage estimates redone for all cars) it would take you at least 10 to 20 years to recoup your money. Many hybrid owners are actually not pleased with their fuel economy as it was not near what they were told by the dealer or manufacturer (60 mpg actually became 40 to 45 and similar).